Venezuelans donate US$2m for Aceh

BANDUNG: The Venezuela government will on Tuesday hand over US$2 million in financial aid for victims of the tsunami disaster last year. The donation came from Venezuelan people, a senior Venezuelan government official said on Monday in Bandung.

"When the tsunami disaster struck Aceh last year, our president Hugo Chavez immediately called on the public to donate money to help the tsunami victims and the money now amounted to US$2 million," said William Izzara, a senior official at the Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Izzara is slated to hand over the US$2 million fund to the Indonesian government today, after the 2nd Meeting of the High Level Joint Commission between Indonesia and Venezuela in Preanger Hotel, Bandung, winds up.

The aid should have been handed over earlier, but it was delayed twice due to technical problems.

The fund aims to help finance rehabilitation and reconstruction projects in the tsunami stricken province. -- JP